Contributions up and down the batting order and from five relief pitchers boosted the SoftBank Hawks into first place in the Pacific League on Sunday with a 9-3 win over the Seibu Lions.
Entering their game at Saitama Prefecture's Belluna Dome just outside Tokyo, the Hawks overcame a 3-2 deficit to pull a half-game ahead of the two-time defending champion Orix Buffaloes, who fell 6-3 to the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Isami Nomura hit a second-inning two-run homer off Lions lefty Chihiro Sumida (3-7), who surrendered four runs over five innings.
"I was only thinking about putting good swings on the ball. It felt good off my bat, so I thought it was going to go," said Nomura, who was playing just his 10th game of the season. "I'm glad I could repay the team's faith in putting me in the starting lineup."
Seibu took its only lead on Wu Nien-ting's three-run third-inning home run off SoftBank starter Shuta Ishikawa, who walked four in his 4-2/3 innings.
But while the Hawks would score in every inning from the fifth on, the last 13 Lions hitters all made outs against the SoftBank bullpen. Fumimaru Taura (2-0) relieved Ishikawa with two outs and two on in the fifth, and retired Wu to end the inning and earn the win.
In the other PL game, the Rakuten Eagles clobbered the Lotte Marines 11-4.
In the Central League's two day games, the second-place DeNA BayStars edged the Chunichi Dragons 3-2, while the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants played to a 2-2 12-inning tie.
